This story refers to the beginning of the lucrative silk
industry.
The Sasanian ruler Ardeshir found himself threatened by Haftvad, who
had prospered thanks to a gigantic worm and had established his own
formidable fortress. Ardeshir killed the worm by pouring molten lead
into its mouth. He then had Haftvad and his son Shahuy suspended from
gibbets and shot with arrows — this image illustrates their
gruesome fate. On the right, Ardeshir, crowned and under the royal
parasol, makes a gesture known as ‘biting the finger of surprise’.
Although illustrated in the Commercial Turkman style of Shiraz, this
manuscript was produced for a son of the Aq Quyunlu ruler based in
Tabriz. For the beginning of Haftvad’s story see
No. 99.